Hi Hatrack. About two weeks ago one of the women who works for me had a baby. She's currently on maternity leave. I want to send some kind of congratulatory something.
Flowers? Chocolates? Strippers? I just have no idea what to do when it comes to stuff like this, because I am a cold emotionless robot.
Help me.
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
A length of chain and a stake, along with a collar?
You know, for the yard? Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Chocolates are always good, assuming the person likes chocolates.
If it were me, I'd love to receive a gift basket with, say, pretty smelling bath salts, peppermint foot lotion, that sort of thing (Body Shop) with chocolates, hot chocolate, herbal teas... Things to promote relaxation. Cuz she's going to need it with a screaming baby.
However, the more traditional thing would be to get a gift for the baby, like a cute outfit or something.
I think.
Or you could do both. But really, what you give depends on the woman - what does she like? What kinds of gifts have been well-received before?
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
Whenever someone in my office has a baby I try to get something that is totally not about the baby. Most new mothers are showered with tons of gifts of baby paraphernalia that I think it's a nice gesture to remember the mom is also a person distinct from the new person she has brought into the world.
Things I've given:
Spa, manicure, or massage gift certificates Chocolates (mentioned) Bath Gift Basket (mentioned) - and most bath/lotion/etc stores in the mall have them pre-assembled or will custom make one for you quickly. Gift certificate to a nice restaurant (with a note that if she can't find a babysitter let "hubby" watch the kid and take a friend. )
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Thank you, KarlEd. I guess I'm not comletely odd after all.
Don't answer that. :|
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
It's like the theory of relativity. I don't think you're odd at all. Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
I told ya...
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Worcestershire sauce.
Posted by jasonepowell (Member # 1600) on :
Diapers! Give the gifts that count!
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
Yes, so every time they screw up their face in disgust, hold their nose, and argue about whose turn it is, they can think of you. Posted by jasonepowell (Member # 1600) on :
well, they probably do that anyway :-)
In all seriousness, my wife makes baby blankets, and then makes a basket of typical baby needs stuff, like diapers, wet wipes, baby powder, onesies, and that sort of thing. That way, you get a hand made thoughtful gift (and the blankets are awesome) as well as stuff you can actually use.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
But no chocolate. *tsk* *tsk* *tsk* *tsk* *tsk*
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
Depending on how good you are with babies and how well you know her, maybe a certificate good for one evening of babysitting?
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
I would be hesitant to give diapers without knowing what the parents' plan was for diapering. They might be using cloth, or a diaper service.
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
Sometimes a homemade casserole or soup can be the biggest blessing.
I second (and third, etc) the ideas of either giving a "mom" gift or a practical "baby" gift.
If she's a scrapbooker/collector type, you might find some cute things for her to use as she works on the baby book. Or a special box/basket and cute notebook/pen for her to collect momentos or moments along the way. The first year goes so fast!
Camera and film? Coupon for developing the film?
A nanny?
Ooooh -- I wish someone had given me a nanny. Then I could have just done the cute, adorable part of loving and raising baby. *grin*
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Originally posted by blacwolve: Depending on how good you are with babies and how well you know her, maybe a certificate good for one evening of babysitting?
Amen, amen, amen.
Posted by Libbie (Member # 9529) on :
From what I've heard from new moms, clothes for LARGER babies than newborns are always welcome. Apparently the little guys grow like weeds, and it gets extremely expensive to keep them from being naked.
Then they get to the phase where they take all their clothes off, anyway.
Posted by MandyM (Member # 8375) on :
I second the offer for babysitting or taking her a homecooked meal. Even offering to help clean house or do laundry would be greatly appreciated, depending on how well you know her.
As for a present, ask if she has a boppy pillow. That was the best pre-baby purchase I made. Lullaby music and maybe a small cd player to put in the baby's room would also be a good choice.
A third option is a baby first aid kit. Get a cute box and put in two digital thermometers (not ear ones) for rectal and underarm temp taking, mylicon for tummyaches, teething tablets (trust me on this one!), baby tylenol, baby nail clippers, a suction bulb, cotton balls, hydrogen peroxide, neosporin, hydrocortizone cream, Nexcare bandaids (they are the best kind, Dr. Smith's diaper creme or Boudreaux's Butt Paste, Benadryl spray, baby sunscreen and bug spray. These are all things she will need in the first year of life and will greatly appreciate not having to buy it all herself in the middle of the night. A great addition would be a baby health book like this. Since all this stuff is pretty expensive, you could even go in with some other coworkers. I wouldn't recommend buying a pre-made first aid kit. They don't have the best products and they include stuff you really don't need.
Not clothes. Everyone buys the new baby clothes. The ones who don't buy clothes, buy blankets. We still have tons of blankets we never used for our baby and she is 3!
[ August 30, 2006, 12:20 PM: Message edited by: MandyM ]
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
quote:What do you get for someone who just had a baby?
A grill.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
I don't give clothes because the sizes never seem to match up with ages and they end up being in the wrong season. I'll give a gift card to a kids' clothing shop (Babies/Kids R Us or Gymboree) and let the parents pick out clothes in sizes and styles that fit their needs. And then I'll usually stitch up a little baby announcement-type picture and put it into the front of a brag book, but that doesn't get given till after the birth because I put the child's birth stats on there too.
Moms get bath bubbles/salts, candles, and a gift certificate to Borders so they can pick out books or music to relax to, and if I'm close to the mom, an offer to babysit so she can get out and be an adult for a while.
Posted by jasonepowell (Member # 1600) on :
You know, Mandy, I'm pretty sure you may win the award for least likely phrase to be uttered on Hatrack with "Buttpaste".
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I thought of free baby sitting too. Maybe a night out in a nice restarant or tickets to a concert or something... I reckon folks with babies get stressed out the first few months and need time off to relax together.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:Chocolates are always good, assuming the person likes chocolates.
Not necessarily for a new mother who is breast feeding her baby. Many babies react adversely to chocolate.
quote:'d love to receive a gift basket with, say, pretty smelling bath salts, peppermint foot lotion.
Scented candles and bath salts make me sneeze. I'm not alone. Alot of people are allergic to perfumes and many others just don't enjoy soaking in a bath. When I get bath stuff as gifts, they end up in a box in the bottom of one of my cupboards until I either throw them out or pass them on to someone else.
quote:A third option is a baby first aid kit.
This is also a high risk option not only because you don't know what she already has but because there is alot of variability on how mothers feel about giving OTC medications to their babies. If she is at all into "natural child care", she might take offense at such a gift.
How well do know this woman? How long has she worked for you? Is your relationship strictly business or do you know her well enough to know her tastes, her lifestyle and her needs. If you know her quite well, then I would suggest a more personal gift for either her or the baby -- something you know she would like or that she needs.
The fact that you asked this question, suggests that you probably don't know her well enough to know her tastes or what she needs. In that case, I'd recommend a card and a gift certificate to someplace that carries a variety of stuff for babies and new mothers. I generally frown on gift certificates because they seem impersonal, but if your relationship with this woman is a business relationship then an impersonal gift is exactly the right thing.
Posted by scholar (Member # 9232) on :
I would do a quick target and babies-r-us gift registry search online. Then you know what they need. At 5 months pregnant, I already have 2 baby thermometer, childproofing stuff, a homemade blanket, a bunch of toys, some diapers, a baby kit (like nail clippers, medical dispenser, etc) and a few outfits. I am supposedly having a baby shower in 2 months and my relatives said there will be a box of baby stuff at Christmas time for us. Point being, you have a really good chance of getting a repeat gift if you aren't going from a registry.
Posted by Samarkand (Member # 8379) on :
Ooooh, if I ever have a baby, and it reacts poorly to chocolate . . . . there will be problems. Num num num, chocolate. Why don't I have any chocolate?
I think searching for a registry is a great idea. I also think that if you give a gift card, it might be nice to try to get one small, inexpenisve personal item as well. Nothing as boring as a candle or lotion, but some nice little something or other. A book you know she'd like (ask her friends), or something small and useful for work, or a cute baby cup, or a little stuffed animal or something. Gift cards are so thoughtful and generous, but a bit impersonal.
Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
I like to give a gift certificate to the local photo studio and a nice frame. I also like getting new parents books on games they can play with their babies. Gymboree has a very nice one.
I rarely give clothes or blankets, largely because that's what everyone gives. Blankets especially...you wouldn't believe how many baby blankets I got with both of my kids. Fortunately my daughter looks at blankets as the most flexible toy ever. It's a tent. No, it's a theater curtain. No, it's an indoor picnic table. No, it's superhero cape.... Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Gift certificate to a restaurant was my favorite gift! It doesn't have to be fancy-- Chilis or whatever will do-- just a night of not having to cook whenever they want is WONDERFUL for new parents.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Boiling water and torn sheets.
Hey, that's what they gave at the movies and on TV while I was growing up. Whenever teh wife went into labor, the husband went off to tear up sheets and boil water.
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
Thank you, hatrack.
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
Today the doctor at my office got a gift after having had a baby in June. It was a baby powder scented candle. Kind of an amusing gift.
Actually, I know a few middle aged women who sometimes complain that they miss the smell of a clean baby, and they beg whiffs of newborns they come across, and bemoan the fact that their grandbabies don't live closer by so they can sniff them. This would be a great candle for them. I wonder where the candle came from.
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
I second/ third whatever/ a gift for mom or a meal. Take a meal even if you do buy a gift.
I also second the cautions on diapers and OTC medicines. Additionally, I know we never would have used free babysitting for at least the first year. A nice gift for baby is the Burt's Baby Bee set.Gifts that are meant to get used up can be nice when you're swimming in stuff.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
romany, I agree that things that are used up are good and that I wouldn't use babysitting until kids were much older and prefer to buy my own medicines as needed (the only ones I ever give to a baby are acetaminophen and ibuprofen), but another caution-- I never give any lotions, soaps, or any other products like that, because my daughter and I both have such sensitive skin that all we can ever use is Dove soap and Eucerin/Aquaphor. My daughter even reacts to zinc, which is in diaper rash creams. So if there's a history of allergy or sensitive skin, you might avoid that as well. Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Gift Card.
I would be rather creeped out by something like bath salts from a boss. Professional relationship = not too personal a gift.
Posted by sarfa (Member # 579) on :
a nanny.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
Box of condoms with a note, "Do us all a favor."
I'd probably do that, and then bust out the real gift of a gift certificate for a massage and a seaweed bath at a spa.
I am sure most women who have just given birth would greatly appreciate that sort of gift. Physical body still being in turmoil and in need of serious pampering IMO.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:Originally posted by dkw: Gift Card.
I would be rather creeped out by something like bath salts from a boss. Professional relationship = not too personal a gift.
That was exactly my thought.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
quote:I'd probably do that, and then bust out the real gift of a gift certificate for a massage and a seaweed bath at a spa.
I am sure most women who have just given birth would greatly appreciate that sort of gift.
No. Nonononono. Not from a male boss.
Totally creeped out.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Yup.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Not to mention the fact that some people don't like massages, either because they're not comfortable being touched by strangers or they have sensitive skin or they find the sensation of deep massage unpleasant. So even if you're talking about a friend and not a co-worker, it's not something you should give unless you have reason to know they like massages or have always wanted to try one.
Plus, as others have mentioned, most women who have just given birth are not going to want to leave their baby for the 4 hours necessary for that sort of treatment.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: Box of condoms with a note, "Do us all a favor."
I'd probably do that, and then bust out the real gift of a gift certificate for a massage and a seaweed bath at a spa.
That's a combination that is screaming for a sexual harrasment complaint. Unless you have a close personal relationship with the mother and KNOW she appreciates your sense of humor this is a really bad idea.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Rabbit:
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: Box of condoms with a note, "Do us all a favor."
I'd probably do that, and then bust out the real gift of a gift certificate for a massage and a seaweed bath at a spa.
That's a combination that is screaming for a sexual harrasment complaint. Unless you have a close personal relationship with the mother and KNOW she appreciates your sense of humor this is a really bad idea.
Everybody: DUH! I wouldn't dream of giving that combination of gifts to ANYBODY other than somebody I knew would appreciate the humor. But I imagine if you are sending a gift to a couple who are having a baby, you probably know them more than just as an aquaintance, so its much more plausible.
I know there are people who are not comfortable being massaged, I am one of those people. But I have found the # of people who like them and would appreciate the chance to have one outnumbers those who are like me. And everybody I know who gets them comes out of it VERY happy.
The massage spa coupon can obviously be swapped for say a simple restaurant coupon for a free meal. I personally find that option more attractive.
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
Some of these ideas are God-awful terrible.
But I still appreciate the efforts, guys!
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:But I imagine if you are sending a gift to a couple who are having a baby, you probably know them more than just as an aquaintance.
I guess you missed the part where TL said this woman was one of his employees.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Rabbit:
quote:But I imagine if you are sending a gift to a couple who are having a baby, you probably know them more than just as an aquaintance.
I guess you missed the part where TL said this woman was one of his employees.
Indeed I had forgotten that part when I wrote my post, I read the OP and didnt add to the thread until a day later.
WHOOPS!
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
Oversight forgiven.
It is worth noting and perhaps remembering that "What do you get for an employee/coworker who just had a baby?" and "What do you get for a close friend who just had a baby?" are questions with very different answers.
Posted by B34N (Member # 9597) on :
quote:Originally posted by TL: Hi Hatrack. About two weeks ago one of the women who works for me had a baby. She's currently on maternity leave. I want to send some kind of congratulatory something.
Flowers? Chocolates? Strippers? I just have no idea what to do when it comes to stuff like this, because I am a cold emotionless robot.
Help me.
Tylenol
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Those are so cute! I want one!
Posted by theamazeeaz (Member # 6970) on :
Don't buy a kid stuffed animals. As tempting as it may seem to buy them some, kids get waaay too many and the parents hate them. I've been treated to rants by professors about how they steal their kids' stuffed animals without the kid knowing and give them away because they are sick of them.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
Um, yeah. Every time a gift giving holiday approaches, I tell them that if they don't get rid of stuffed animals, I'm buying them clothes. Even though I will never buy them another stuffed animal ever, someone will.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shan: Camera and film? Coupon for developing the film?
How quaint! How last century!
Do you remember rotary dial phones? Alarm clocks that had a pair of bells sitting on top like earmuffs, and the clock would ring when it was morning? TV antennae coming off the roof of every house in the neighborhood?
Seriously, a gift certificate is an appropriate gift. And a nice card.
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But really, what you give depends on the woman - what does she like? What kinds of gifts have been well-received before?
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